Valencia was the first city to implement a PlastiCircle pilot - testing innovations in collection, transport, sorting and recycling of plastic packaging. All to drive the city towards a circular economy for plastic packaging, and to give a second life to valuable household plastic waste. The pilot took place in the neighbourhood of Sant Marcel·lí which, under the local name of 'ReciPlàstic', promoted an innovative process of citizen participation across all ages and demographics.
The pilot run from 1 May to 31 July 2019, although citizens already registered since 17 April and the pilot officially finished in September.
How did it work for the citizens of Sant Marcel·lí ?
When a local resident participated, they deposited their bags (with light packaging waste) in one of the 25 yellow containers in the neighbourhood. These containers had a smart device attached, designed to issue a label with a bar code that identifies the user. The "user" then sticked this label on the bag then deposited in the container. This allowed the sorters and recyclers to know how each citizen had separated his/her waste. Of course this meant that residents were rewarded for good recycling behaviour, collecting 'ecopoints' that could be claimed or exchanged later for a variety of rewards. The incentive for citizens to recycle, and do it well, is very much part of the PlastiCircle approach.
The launch of the Valencia pilot included a series of events and workshops listed on the local website - where everyone could find all the information related to the project - and through which interested residents could (in Spanish): register for the project, participate in various community processes , consult the value of ecopoints, or even read local project news and see what's happening!
Local website: www.supermarcelina.com
Have a look at the photos from some of the events! From a children's workshop, from an information point at the local health centre, and from an informative street activity.